The Work of Women

The Work of Women: A Pan-African History of Women Who Remade the World is a sweeping work of public history that brings the lives of Black and Pan-African women thinkers, organisers, workers, and freedom fighters out of the margins and into the centre of how we understand the modern world. From Sojourner Truth, Njinga Mbande, and Saartjie Baartman, to Assata Shakur, Kesaveloo Goonam, Ruth First, and bell hooks, this powerful work traces a Pan-African tradition of resistance forged through slavery, colonialism, labour, survival, and collective struggle.

These women were not isolated heroines. They were part of powerful movements that transformed communities, challenged systems of oppression, and shaped political thought across generations. Their courage, strategy, and vision continue to speak directly to the crises of the present.

At once urgent, accessible, and deeply researched, The Work of Women asks what becomes possible when we place women’s labour, leadership, and intellectual traditions at the heart of history itself.

Dr Vashna Jagarnath is a historian, political analyst, and labour movement strategist whose work focuses on Pan-Africanism, political economy, gender, and social transformation across Africa. With more than two decades of experience spanning academia, trade unions, governance, and policy, she is known for bridging rigorous scholarship with public engagement and political education. She has worked extensively within South Africa’s labour movement, from grassroots organising to high-level policy and collective bargaining processes. A respected public intellectual, she regularly contributes analysis to Mail & Guardian, Daily Maverick, Business Day, and The Conversation. The Work of Women reflects her longstanding commitment to making history accessible beyond academic spaces.